Overwintering broad beans

It's basically a bit of guesswork in that you want them to grow to about 6" high before the real cold weather halts their growth. Much higher than that and they are at the mercy of the wind which may flatten them. By surviving the worst of the winter weather they are off with a head start come early spring.

I did mine in October last year - they got to a foot high by winter, they fell over and I had to stake them all. They did really well, but they weren't pretty. This year am sowing in early November.

I'm in South West - Dorset. Nov 20th is my planting date for Aquadulce broad bean. Gives me stocky 2"-3" plants to stand through the hard weather period. This date hasn't failed me yet.

If the winter weather does not get them the slugs probably will !

IMO the only people that gain from autumn planted beans are the people that sell you more seed ! 

Having had no success over wintering Broad beans I switched to Wizard Field Beans last year (sowed mid-October) and would have had a great crop if it weren't for the terrible blackfly-I gave up fighting them and eventually dug them up having enjoyed some harvest.

Same here with proper broad beans and I grow Wizard now.   Mine went in around the same time as yours last year.  I've just been checking my diary and they were about to burst into flower on 19th April this year.  I like them as I just bung the seed in and pretty much walk away until harvest time.   They also come true from seed, so you only need to buy them once and you can have free crops every year afterwards 

They got blackfly with a vengence, but I had a really good crop off them, even if they were messy to pick towards the end.

These pictures have been posted before, but I didn't spray and let the ladybirds have a field day.  I have to say, I don't think I saw another aphid on the plot all summer after this lot had moved off the beans looking for more food 

Thank you all  . I'll wait until November then. And if that doesn't work, perhaps I'll think about wizard in the future.

In spring the voles ate all my broad beans. So I imagine they would eat any I sow now?

I had to sow a second lot and the weather got so warm they didn't do at all well, I got a medium freezer bag of beans out of 30 plants.

Yes, and they eat Wizard beans as well of course!!

I sow mine in modules early November and once they have two leaves carefully plant them out. I even take off the remains of the bean seed bits to stop voles biting through the stem to get these. A bit of a faff, but worth it.